Certain aerosol actuators having good ergonomics have been designed with actuator buttons that have a sliding movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,082 discloses an actuating mechanism for a hand held canister in which a slider is moveable by finger pressure from a valve-disengaged position into a valve-engageable position and a concealed spring returns the slider to a valve-disengaged position when finger pressure is removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,678,147 discloses a slider fitting over an actuator having a base profile which rests on a shoulder surrounding a plunger in an inoperable position and which is slid forwards to an operable position in which the slider base rests on the plunger and is spaced above the shoulder allowing depression of the slider.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,353 discloses an actuator in which a button is slid forward beyond the edge of the tab and over an aerosol valve, so that the button can be depressed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,497 discloses an actuator which is child-resistant in which an actuator button is simultaneously slid forward and downward to actuate the device and is returned to its original position by a spring arrangement.
WO 2010/052168, published on 14.05.10 and claiming priority dates of May 11, 2008 and Mar. 7, 2009, discloses a hand held aerosol dispenser comprising an actuator sharing some common features with that of the present invention, but lacking independent slide movement and depression of an actuator button to achieve activation, particularly with the slide movement requiring significant force.
US 2004/0164103 discloses a cap for mounting on an aerosol container that enables automatic release of residual propellant from the container before it is discarded.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,678,147 discloses foam dispenser head for an aerosol dispenser having actuator button that requires sliding forwarding before it can be depressed.
General Description
An object of the present invention is to provide an actuator for an aerosol dispenser that has good ergonomics and robustness of operation. A key feature of the robustness of operation is the avoidance of lateral pressure upon the dispensing valve and more specifically the valve stem of the aerosol container upon which the actuator is used.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an actuator for an aerosol dispenser that has good resistance to premature discharge, that is to say, good resistance to release of the dispenser's contents before desired; for example, during manufacture or transit.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an actuator for an aerosol dispenser that has good ergonomics and robustness of operation.
A feature of the invention that aids the resistance to premature discharge is an actuator button that requires significant force to move it to a position in which it is operable. It is essential that this first movement is independent of the movement that causes release of the contents of the aerosol dispenser.
In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an actuator for a hand-held aerosol container fitted centrally at its top with a dispensing valve, said actuator comprising:
(i). a cup-shaped over-cap attachable to the container and comprising a sidewall defining a spray aperture through which a spray can be directed and a top wall defining a gap through which the spray channel passes, said gap restricting lateral movement of the spray channel;(ii). a spray channel in fluid connection with the valve and adapted to spray through the spray aperture in the sidewall of the over-cap;(iii). an actuator button comprising a finger pad from which a keel depends; actuation requiring a first slide movement of the button and second depression movement of the button, the keel dependent from the finger pad of the button being able to press down onto the spray channel and the spray channel on to the valve after the first slide movement of the button, but not before; characterised in that:the actuator button has a distinct first slide movement that puts it into an orientation in which an independent second depression movement causes release of the contents of the associated dispenser and in that the force required for the first slide movement of the actuator button is at least 5N.
In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of applying a cosmetic aerosol composition to the human body comprising the use of an actuator according to the first or second aspect of the invention.